Up Your Instagram Game with the App Celebs and Influencers Can’t Get Enough Of

So extra, but so good!

The results are in and the list of the top paid iPhone and iPad apps is out!

For the week ending on October 1st, Minecraft, Plague Inc., NBA 2K18 and Heads Up! topped the charts followed by Toca Life: Office, Bloons TD 5 and iSchedule. Coming up from behind? kirakira+, the only Photo & Video app to make the cut.

Developed by Kentaro Yama, the app creates insanely dreamy photos and videos using built-in sparkle filters, some of which go by super cute names, too. It’s the stuff of glitter fantasies and unicorn dreams, we tell you. And it’s slowly invading Instagram.

But what is it about glossy and shiny things that make us go “wow, prettyyyy”?

Research shows that people’s affinity for things that sparkle is linked to an innate need for water. That’s right: there’s a lot more to it than visual aesthetics.

Vanessa M. Patrick, marketing professor and director of doctoral programs at the University of Houston explains: “Our preference for glossy might be deep-rooted and very human. It is humbling to acknowledge that despite our sophistication and progress as a species, we are still drawn to things that serve our innate needs—in this case, the need for water.”

“We know that people actually like glossy stuff, so that’s really not so interesting. What’s interesting is why. This particular paper has a series of studies in which we essentially try to understand: Why do people like glossy stuff?” says Patrick. “We tested that by showing children, who have not been socialized, glossy pictures. And we find there’s a preference for glossy even amongst children. The paper really came from the idea of an observation of children: When children, infants, are shown glossy objects, they tend to lick them.”

Though it launched back in 2015, kirakira+ videos began making rounds on social media only later this year thanks to fashion and beauty insiders like Rosie Huntington-Whiteley and Pat McGrath who used the app to capture behind-the-scenes moments at photo shoots and runway shows, enticing their followers and sparking interest among sparkle-loving folks on Instagram.

Users can choose from seven different filters and alter the level of sparkle as well.

Kirakira

Twinkle

Airly

Color

Shine

Bling-Bling

Glare

With the latest update, users are now able take sparkly still images in addition to the video clip feature. That’s a lot of sparkle at your fingertips for just $0.99 or P49 a (single-pay) download. It won’t be long until we all need a sparkle app intervention.

Eva Chen is obviously a fan of the app; her Instagram feed is jam-packed with kirakira+ videos.

The former Condé Nast editor and Instagram’s current head of fashion partnerships uses the app for her fashion week front row coverage among other things.